As he paves the way for gender-fluid style, Christian Wilkins hopes that more fashion houses embrace inclusive dress as he said the industry can sometimes feel ‘incredibly exclusive’.
The model, who is the son of one of Australia’s most-known TV presenters Richard Wilkins, has never been afraid to express himself through his eccentric dress sense.
As he gets ready to walk in the PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival for its closing runway show on March 11, Christian spoke to 9Honey about his passion for inclusive fashion, and how it’s been a long time coming.
‘I love PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival, because it’s so inclusive,’ he said.
‘And Melbourne is such a fashion-forward city, and this is actually a consumer event’ Christian went on.
‘People can be there on the ground and kind of see all the trends firsthand, and it’s that interaction that really separates PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival from so many other fashion events in Australia.’
The fashionista, who walked in the recent Romance Was Born show, said it feels like a dream come true that the Melbourne event is so inclusive.
‘It’s nice to feel included because I think a lot of people find that fashion can feel incredibly exclusive, but it shouldn’t be at all. It should be inclusive and they really embrace that.’
Due to Covid-19, the event was cancelled in 2021 and 2022, so Wilkins said it has been a long-time coming.
‘I feel really special closing this show because I was meant to close the show in 2020 but the last show was actually cancelled because of COVID – it was right at the beginning of the outbreak,’ he said.
‘And now this feels like a really full circle moment to finally be able to close the festival after all these years.’
While the fashionista said he’s certainly seen the negative side of embracing his style – such as online trolls – he said the support he receives outweighs the bad.
He also fully embraces the positive energy that walking the runway in inclusive clothing makes him feel.
He said: ‘One time a friend said to me, “You know, this is the closest we’re ever gonna get to feeling like a rock star”, and I’m sure, because it’s that adrenaline rush when you just walk out in front of so many people, it’s thrilling.’
Source: dailymail.co.uk
